This is the phase extending from the suspicion of a Cancer to the start of Treatment.
It involves 2 different components.
First, Is it Cancer.? – This is the Diagnosis part
Next, how much has the cancer Spread.? – This is the Staging part
Diagnosis & Staging
Diagnosis
Breast Cancer diagnosis is confirmed by examining breast tissue.
The tissue is usually obtained
- with a smaller needle (called FNAC)
- or a wide bore needle (called Core Biopsy )
- or a small surgery ( called Excision biopsy )
After the tissue is obtained it is sent to the pathologist for confirming and classifying the Cancer.
The pathologist can employ a range of methods to arrive at the diagnosis.
These include
- HPE
- IHC
- Special studies like FISH etc
It can take anywhere from 2 days to 10 days for the Pathologist report to be ready.
Staging
Parallel to diagnosis, doctors usually do investigations to assess the spread of the cancer through the body.
This is done by doing different scans, including
- CT Scans
- MRI Scans
- PET-CT Scan
- Ultrasound Scan
Once the staging is complete, you are ready for the next step, the formulation of Treatment Plan.